


Flights of Angels

by brotective



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Getting Together, Hamlet - Freeform, Kissing, References to Shakespeare, Theatre, of the stage variety, unsurprisingly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-27 23:49:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20054563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brotective/pseuds/brotective
Summary: In a community theatre production of Hamlet, Chisato is cast as Horatio.





	Flights of Angels

**Author's Note:**

> i was gonna post this in honor of swimsuit kaochisa but... we all know how that one turned out

Chisato’s eyes scanned the cast list, searching for her name among the rest. It didn’t take long to find it—she had been cast as Horatio. An odd choice, really, but she supposed it made sense in the end—she was skeptical, tended to be the common sense in any group, but was ultimately unable to stop anything that went wrong. Boring, standing on the sidelines... and for whatever reason, some people managed to love her regardless.

Her eyes slipped down from her own name. She didn’t recognize the people playing Ophelia, Rosencratz, Guildenstern, Claudius, Gertrude...

And then she looked directly above it, at the person playing Hamlet.

_Kaoru Seta._

It shouldn’t have surprised her. Kaoru was dedicated to Haneoka’s theatre club, but she did community theatre often enough, and she was good enough to get any role she wanted.

A long time ago, they had been close friends. In a way that Chisato would never admit to her face, she still considered Kaoru her best friend. So perhaps she could play the part—the difficult thing was avoiding vulnerability. She had done that so expertly and for so long, but she had fallen when she and Kaoru had last performed together.

The night she got the script, as she always did, she went home and reviewed the lines. She found her own lines and scanned the verse, which was an endeavor that took little time now that she was so well-practiced. She began working on her hooks next, linking her lines together with everyone she spoke to—primarily Hamlet, of course.

And then she reached the monologue that would become her downfall.

She murmured a few lines aloud, imagining Kaoru saying them. She didn’t know why she had chosen those lines specifically, but they made her feel comfortable in a way that was rare for her now.

“Since my dear soul was mistress of her choice and could of men distinguish, her election hath seal’d thee for myself, for thou hast been—as one in suffering all that suffers nothing—a man that Fortune’s buffets and rewards hast ta’en with equal thanks.”

She had read this play well enough that it was easy for her to quickly paraphrase. As that line was so important to Horatio’s character, she knew it was important for her purposes as well. She read the paraphrase aloud.

“Ever since I have been able to choose my friends, I have chosen you, for you have—like one that has had no bad experiences at all—taken all that life hands you with grace.”

She waited for a moment before she breathed out, only now realizing that she had held her breath before she spoke. She cursed herself for not being more adept in her breathing.

She spoke again, a later line in the monologue.

“Give me that man that is not passion’s slave, and I will wear him in my heart of hearts, as I do thee.”

She paused, her eyes staring at the monologue but her mind left unable to think.

Rationally, she knew it was nothing. She knew it should have been nothing. These were words written centuries ago, words she hadn’t even heard Kaoru say yet.

“Give me a man who masters his own emotions, and I will wear him in the core of my heart, as I do you.”

And yet, they felt real.

Horatio was dedicated to Hamlet, dedicated in a way that was now unfamiliar to Chisato, as much as that had not been the case when she was young. Chisato was completely unprepared to tap into the emotions of her youth, but she supposed she would have to for the sake of the role.

Chisato shook her feelings off. She knew that would not be possible forever, but it was possible now.

She made it to the last page after a bit more than an hour of work, and noticed something odd.

There were several cuts. That alone wasn’t abnormal—Hamlet was a long play, after all, and the people involved were exclusively students—but the show had been cut after Horatio’s last line.

“And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

Chisato paused.

That “thee” changed everything. Throughout the play, Horatio had been nothing but formal—only “you” towards Hamlet, the detached and submissive “you”, the inability to recognize himself as not a subordinate, but a friend, until his death...

...and Chisato felt like a fool.

If something were to happen to Kaoru—a fear that she knew was irrational, but was kept tucked in the back of her mind regardless—would she regret never even hinting at her feelings for her?

As much as Kaoru had hurt her with her ridiculous persona, she still deserved love. Real, genuine love.

She had gotten some from her band, but Chisato knew she deserved more.

The next day was the official read-through, and of course, Chisato and Kaoru had made themselves the stars. All was going well, Chisato with her extensive preparation and Kaoru with her instinctive understanding of Hamlet, and Chisato began to feel comfortable.

Until she stopped.

“Nay, do not think I flatter.”

Her heart stopped. Her breathing slowed.

“For what advancement may I hope from thee, that hast no revenue but thy good spirits, to feed and clothe thee?”

The rest of the room was blacked out. She could only focus on Kaoru.

“No, let the candied tongue lick absurd pomp, and crook the pregnant hinges by the knee where thrift may follow fawning. Dost thou hear?”

She took a deep breath in. Why was she shaking like she was about to cry? Why did Kaoru saying these words make her feel this way?

“Since my dear soul was mistress of her choice and could of men distinguish, her election hath sealed thee for myself.”

Chisato felt quiet tears running down her face. She lifted her script to her face to hide them, but Kaoru seemed to be wiser than her. She stood, walking slowly over as she spoke.

“For thou hast been as one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing, a man that fortune’s buffets and rewards has ta’en with equal thanks.”

Kaoru knelt in front of her, touching a hand to the side of her face, gently wiping her tears away as best she could with only her bare hands.

“Give me the man that is not passion’s slave, and I will wear him in my heart’s core...”

Kaoru made eye contact with her. Chisato’s face warmed, and her stomach filled with the butterflies of youth.

She was in love, wasn’t she?

“Ay, in my heart of hearts, as I do thee.”

Kaoru took a brief moment on the line to look her over, make sure she was all right, before she stood and continued talking.

Chisato was left speechless until her cue line.

And then came the ending. A lovely, painful ending—and with Horatio’s final line being the play’s conclusion, it was more so.

“The rest is silence,” Kaoru read, her voice empty and pained.

Chisato glanced down.

“Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince. And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

She knew that she did not have pronoun dispensation. “Thee” and “thy” were both in the unstressed position, and stressing it with a trochee or spondee seemed excessive, but it felt like something the audience deserved to know.

Then again, maybe it wasn’t. This was something to be shared with Horatio and Hamlet—no, with Kaoru and Chisato.

At their blocking rehearsal, during break, Kaoru approached her.

“Fantastic work, my dear friend. I am always impressed by your focus.”

Chisato smiled. “Thank you, Kaoru. I must admit that you are a wonderful actress.”

Their conversation only had a moment, and as Kaoru walked away to get water, Chisato felt a sudden urge to stop her.

She knew she shouldn’t, but Kaoru had been the one who taught her to allow herself to dream, and dream she would.

“Wait.”

Kaoru looked back, slightly confused but open to listen.

“You are a wonderful Hamlet. I enjoy being your Horatio...” She took a deep breath. “...my friend.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Kaoru turned away, but Chisato noticed the slightest hint of a smile on her face. A genuine smile, not one of the false ones she gave her kittens to calm them.

It seemed her smile was also contagious.

Their rehearsals continued on. Chisato began to become more comfortable with Kaoru—laying across her lap in a few scenes, touching her hands, sobbing over her in the final scene (and the tears were real, but nobody needed to know that).

Chisato had been plenty vulnerable on her first day. She thought it couldn’t get worse, and yet, she was still encumbered by her unnecessary feelings. Hiding how much she had fallen for Kaoru through their time together became more and more difficult.

Her heart burned every time she spat out that final “thee”. It was regretful, painful... everything Chisato felt when she continued to hide her feelings from Kaoru.

_What was she so afraid of?_

The theatre they were working at had several dressing rooms, and the small show with no ensemble meant that each one only had two or three people. It was nice, really, but Chisato and Kaoru were one of the pairs in a dressing room—and seeing her daily grated on Chisato even more.

She couldn’t take it. The spark of fear and regret had been placed in her, and she had to say _something_.

In one of their dress rehearsals, they were given 45 minutes to get in their costumes for the beginning and put their makeup on. Chisato stared silently into her mirror, painting on her contour, before she spoke.

“Kaoru?”

“Yes?”

“Please don’t tell anyone what I’m about to say.”

Kaoru turned to her. Chisato didn’t look away from the mirror, but she could still see her plainly.

“You know that I could never do such a thing to you, Chisato, my dearest friend. You may tell me anything.”

Chisato breathed in. Her directors had always taught her to breathe whenever she forgot a line or just needed a moment—and she most certainly needed a moment.

She had leave to speak, and speak she would, or else her tender heart might break.

“I’m in love with you.”

Kaoru nearly dropped her makeup palette.

“You... I...”

She seemed surprised, but Chisato couldn’t tell completely. As familiar as they were with each other’s emotions, Chisato was still only seeing her through a mirror. She supposed she should turn to face her, and turn she did.

It took that much for her to notice that Kaoru was bright red, the color completely unconcealed by her makeup.

Chisato felt relief rush over her. This was the Kaoru she knew and loved. She laughed, partially due to her own surprise, mostly at Kaoru’s expression.

“You’re so cute, Kao-chan!”

Kaoru buried her head in her hands. Her makeup smudged a bit from her failure to use setting powder.

“Chisato... I, um, I also...”

“You’ve always been the cutest since we were little kids, and, I... I can’t believe it! You’re still... I still love you, and you’re adorable...”

“A-Ah, stop that...”

Chisato grinned. Teasing her was fun, actually. “Stop what, Kao-chan? My honey love? My heart’s gleam? My darling?”

In any other situation, Chisato would have been much more reserved with her affection. But seeing Kaoru alone, bright red in the dressing room they shared, made her confident and elated in a way she hadn’t felt since they were young children.

Kaoru, still blushing, returned to her setting powder. “I... just, um, keep those sweet nicknames private, all right? I must confess that I, well... I am in love with you as well, and have been for quite some time, but... it’s, um, it’s embarrassing...” Her voice rose to a pitiful squeak, and Chisato laughed again.

“Of course. I’m just... so happy!”

She really was. She was warm, much more comfortable in her desire to hold Kaoru, to kiss her...

Suddenly, an idea.

“Do you think that, when you are killed on stage, that I might kiss you? With Horatio only comfortable openly being Hamlet’s friend after his death, it seems like it is appropriate for him to only love him after his death, too.”

Kaoru’s eyes widened at the idea, but she seemed intrigued, at the very least.

“A fascinating concept, really... yes, I suppose we could play with the idea that Horatio was in love with Hamlet, perhaps even Hamlet being in love with Horatio in return. Of course, we’ll have to ask our director for such a major change.”

“You know I’m not so foolish as to do something like that without asking her permission. In fact, I’m wounded, Kao-chan.”

Kaoru’s face flushed red again as she spoke. “Why then! It is fine by me. We have twenty minutes left, and you are nearly in your costume, so I would request that you ask. I have quite a few buckles to deal with on mine, you see.”

“Of course. I’ll let you know what she says.”

Chisato shot a wink back at Kaoru, immediately straightening her posture as soon as she left the room. Her face only had half its contour, but besides that, she was almost ready to be on stage.

Their director accepted the plan, and Chisato returned back to the dressing room with a smile.

“I’m not surprised she did. We have kissed on stage twice already, so it’s nothing new.” Chisato picked up her makeup kit, applying the rest of her contour.

“Still, with the new knowledge that we, um... are indeed in love with each other...” Kaoru’s face flushed red once more as she frantically applied more stage makeup. “It does feel a bit odd for our first kiss as lovers, if that is what you would like to call us, would be on stage.”

Chisato smiled, turning to her. “I disagree. I believe the stage is such an important part of our relationship, how it made me realize my feelings for you again and again over the years... it’s only fitting.” She lowered her voice, almost teasingly. “I wouldn’t be opposed to a kiss now, however.”

She puckered her lips for emphasis. Kaoru covered her face.

“You’re doing this on purpose.”

“Oh, I’ve brought the great actress, Kaoru Seta to her knees?”

Chisato was going to use so many embedded stage directions to actually get Kaoru on her knees, but then she realized.

“Ah, we should be running our notes. Finish putting your makeup on, Kaoru.”

On stage that evening, Chisato was met with thunderous applause when she held Kaoru in her arms and leaned down for that final kiss—and through her sobs, she spoke, a whisper between her and Kaoru, its transference to the audience seeming only coincidental.

“And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

**Author's Note:**

> ive always wanted to see these two playing hamratio but it looks like i gotta write my own food  
other iconic shakespeare couples they should play that id pay to read a fic about include bencutio, benedick/beatrice, and lucentio/bianca  
stan kaochisa


End file.
